East Brunswick Girls Volleyball – 2007 Season Summary
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11/02/2007 – State Tournament – East Brunswick defeats Cherry Hill East 25-20, 25-21
East Brunswick seems to be getting better with each game. Against Cherry Hill
East, the score was going back and fourth but staying very close until it was
9-9 in the first game and Jing Cao came up to serve and the Bears rolled to a
14-9 advantage. The Bears went on to a 25-20 victory in the first game. In the
second game, East Brunswick got off to a bad start falling behind 8-2. The Bears
clawed back to 8-5, but then Cherry Hill East pulled ahead 14-9. Once again with
Jing Cao serving, the Bears surged forward and pulled ahead 17-14 and went on to
win 25-21. In addition to strong serving, the Bears really have good blocking capability this year with
opponents often hitting the ball out trying to avoid being blocked. Both
middles, Jing Cao and Grace Huang, and the two opposite hitters, Alannah Miller
and Mary Ruffner all make it very difficult for opposing hitters to get clean
kills. East Brunswick had plenty of kills of their own with Grace Huang getting five kills and Michelle Sempkowski had three.
The Bears also played very solid defense with Becky Temkin (7 digs), Michelle
Sempkowski (4 digs) and Marta Matera all getting lots of amazing digs. Nicole
Venezia and Allanah Miller each had many great hits. Splitting the setter duties
Candace Riggs and Allanah Miller were spectacular. This team is playing with a
lot of heart and they don’t panic when they get behind. The competition is going
to be very tough, but with any luck, this team may still have a long way to go.
East Brunswick improves to 27-3 on the season and will go to Southern Regional
on Tuesday for the quarter finals.
Jing Cao – helped win the game with her great serve
10/29/2007 – Greater Middlesex Conference Champions – East Brunswick defeats J.P. Stevens 25-18, 25-20
East Brunswick certified that their dominance of the Greater Middlesex
Conference with a swift two game victory over J.P. Stevens to win
the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament for the third straight year. The
match was scheduled to be played J.P. Stevens High School regardless of who
qualified which gave the Hawks an advantage when they made it to the finals.
East Brunswick quickly took the crowd out of the game rolling to 8-1, 13-2 and
19-6 margins in the first game. Grace Huang had three kills during this stretch.
J.P. Stevens then started a rally with some nice kills by Maggie Kowalska, some
service errors by East Brunswick and some two touch calls by the officials. The
crowd came alive and seemed to be getting on East Brunswick’s nerves. J.P.
Stevens got as close as 23-17, but East Brunswick closed the door with kills by
Michele Sempkowski (6 kills, 10 digs) and Allanah Miller (7 kills, 6 assists) to
gain a 25-18 victory. In the second game, East Brunswick pulled out to a 3-1
lead, but J.P. Stevens was fired up and slowly pulled out ahead. At 17-14, East
Brunswick did what they have done so many times this year, they roared back to
snatch away a game. It started with Marta Matera digging out a hard hit ball
which bounce over the net and scored for the Bears. This was followed up by a
kill by Michele Sempkowski and a nice block by Jing Cao. East Brunswick was up
19-17 before giving up another point. Becky Temkin (9 digs, 2 aces) and Marta Matera were
getting some incredible digs to help keep the rally going. Mary Ruffner ended the
game with a nice kill.
East
Brunswick improves to 26-3 on the season and will be seeded 6th in the state tournament.
Greater Middlesex Conferece Champions – 3 years straight
10/25/2007 – East Brunswick defeats South Brunswick 25-19, 25-15
East Brunswick won the semi-final round of the Greater Middlesex Conference
Tournament with a solid two game victory over South Brunswick. While the Bears
did at times make some sloppy mistakes, they also showed just how good they can
be. Allanah Miller and Michele Sempkowski are really showing leadership, not
just getting kills, they had 16 between them, but with strong defense as well.
Candace Riggs was moving around her sets nicely, makikng it hard for the Vikings
to get any blocks. Mary Ruffner, Nicole Venezia, Jing Cao and Grace Huang had
many kills between them. Marta Matera and Becky Temkin seemed to be able to
pick up just about everything. The Bears will face J.P. Stevens in the finals on
Monday at J.P. Stevens. With this win, East Brunswick is now 25-3 for the year.
October 23, 2007 – East Brunswick defeated Piscataway 25-7, 25-18
East Brunswick dominated Piscatawy with 6 kills, 5 assists and 5 digs by senior opposite Allanah Miller. Junior middle Jing Cao had 4 kills for
East Brunswick. East Brunswick will play South Brunswick in the Greater Middlesex Tournament semifinal match at home at 4PM Thursday 10/25/2007. East
Brunswick is now 24-3 for the season.
10/19/2007 – East Brunswick defeats South Brunswick 25-14, 25-18
East Brunswick completed the regular season by soundly defeating a division opponent to confirm their number one ranking for the the Greater Middlesex Conference
Tournament that starts this week. Michele Sempkowski had 5 kills and 5 digs while teammate Allanah Miller had 3 kills, 7 aces and 2 digs for the Bears.
Becky Temkin had 6 digs for East Brunswick. The Bears seem ready for the tournaments. With this win, East Brunswick is now 22-3 for the year.
October 18, 2007 – East Brunswick defeated North Brunswick 25-12, 25-16
East Brunswick rolled to a victory over North Brunswick. Nicole Venezia had 5 kills for the Bears. Allanah Miller had 7 kills and 12 assists while center
Grace Huang had 5 kills and 1 block for the Bears. East
Brunswick is now 21-3 for the season.
October 17, 2007 – East Brunswick defeated Edison 25-19, 25-17
East Brunswick powered to another victory with Deanne Acosta getting 4 digs and 3 kills. Allanah Miller had 6 aces and 4 kills for the Bears. East
Brunswick is now 20-3 for the season.
October 12, 2007 – East Brunswick defeated South Plainfield 25-10, 25-17
East Brunswick had a solid outing against South Plainfield, winning in two games. Michelle Sempkowski had 5 kills and 2 service points. Shirley Li had
two kills and 10 digs. East Brunswick is now 19-3 for the season.
10/8/2007 – East Brunswick defeats Williamstown 25-18, 28-26
East Brunswick won it’s most impressive victory of the year. Williamstown won a state title last year and were clearly an awesome team, but
East Brunswick proved that they too are ready for great things. The Bears quickly fell behind 9-15, but then senior Michelle Sempkowski came up to serve
and after several aces and some inspired points by her teammates, East Brunswick rolled to an 18-15 advantage. The Bears seniors have played for a state
championship before and it showed. Michelle Sempkowski and Allanah Miller not only had many wicked kills, but also played some great defense, getting
digs that seemed impossible. The second game really tested the Bears. East Brunswick fell behind 2-7 and then.
Marta Matera and Becky Temkin each made many tremendous defensive plays and a block by Mary Ruffner helped pull them back to even at 9-9.
The Bears pulled ahead 14-12, but Williamstown was determined and soon pulled back ahead 21-18. Each team exchanged points and soon the Bears were at game
point down 24-21. With Grace Huang serving, East Brunswick played some incredible volleyball and tied the game at 24. They then exchanged points, but finally
were victorious 28-26.
With this win, East Brunswick is now 15-3 for the year.
10/6/2007 – East Brunswick defeats Eastern 25-23, 25-23
East Brunswick won an important victory against a strong Eastern team in a tri-match at East Brunswick High School. Grace Huang had a great game with 3 kills
2 blocks and 2 digs. Michelle Sempkowski had a good game with several wicked shots at critical times. Nicole Venezia also had a very strong game. The
Bears proved that they were tough and could come back from adversity. In the first game, East Brunswick fell behind 3-9, managed to pull back even only to again
be behind at 18-20. The Bears stayed calm and closed the game out 25-23. The second game was just a tight struggle the entire way with the game tied at numerous points
throughout. With this win, East Brunswick is now 13-2 for the year.
10/6/2007 – East Brunswick defeats Westfield 25-23, 27-25
East Brunswick started a tri-match at East Brunswick High School with a critical victory over perennially strong Westfield.
The Bears were ahead most of the first game and held off a late surge by Westfield to win. The second game was similar with the Bears comfortably
ahead most of the game, but the late surge by Westfield looked like it might be fatal when they pulled ahead 25-24. Westfield was then called
for a service error to tie the game. East Brunswick landed two more wicked points to end the game. Becky Temkin had 16 digs and 2 kills.
With this win, East Brunswick improves to 12-2 on the season.
October 1, 2007 – Bridgewater-Raritan defeated East Brunswick 25-20, 25-13
East Brunswick lost to a very strong Bridgewater team. Nicole Venezia had 5
kills while teammate Allanah Miller had 5 kills, 5 assists and 7 digs. East
Brunswick is now 8-2 for the season.
September 29, 2007 – East Brunswick 2nd – Healing the Children Tournament
East Brunswick placed second place in the third annual ‘Healing the Children Tournament’. The Bears played some very good volleyball and were only
defeated by a tough Watchung Hills team.
09/28/2007 – East Brunswick wins double header 2-0,2-0
Mary Ruffner gets a kill
East Brunswick played two back to back matches against Piscataway. The Bears were able to handle the over-matched Chiefs without
difficulty. In the first match, Nicole Venezia had 3 kills. Hanjing Cao and Deanna Acosta each had 3 kills for East Brunswick.
In the second match, Allanah Miller had 10 kills, 2 aces and 2 digs. Mary Ruffner had 3 kills, 1 ace and 3 digs. Candace Riggs
had 12 assists. East Brunswick is now 8-1 for the season.
September 26, 2007 – East Brunswick 4, Voorhees 0
East Brunswick played two back to back matches against Piscataway. The Bears were able to handle the over-matched Chiefs without
difficulty. In the first match, Nicole Venezia had 3 kills. Hanjing Cao and Deanna Acosta each had 3 kills for East Brunswick.
In the second match, Allanah Miller had 10 kills, 2 aces and 2 digs. Mary Ruffner had 3 kills, 1 ace and 3 digs. Candace Riggs
had 12 assists. East Brunswick is now 8-1 for the season.
September 25, 2007 – East Brunswick defeats North Brunswick 25-18, 25-16
East Brunswick had a solid game against North Brunswick. Alannah Miller had 8
assists, 4 kills and 3 aces. Michelle Sempkowski had 5 aces, 3 kills and 3 digs. East Brunswick is now 7-1 for the season.
09/24/2007 – East Brunswick defeats Edison 25-12, 25-8
East Brunswick overpowered Edison in a home game at East Brunswick. Deanna Acosta got several kills in the second game.
Candace Riggs severed for several aces.
September 11, 2007 – East Brunswick Defeats Old Bridge 25-23, 25-20
East Brunswick’s Michelle Sempkowski had 5 kills, 6 digs and 3 assists in the Bear’s victory over
rival Old Bridge. Shirley Li had 10 digs while Marta Matera had 8 digs. East Brunswick is now 3-0 for the season.
September 10, 2007 – East Brunswick Defeats Bishop Ahr 25-13, 25-10
East Brunswick dominated Bishop Ahr in a home match. Nicole Venezia had 5 kills and 3 digs for East Brunswick. Candace Riggs had 19 assists, 4 aces and
3 digs. East Brunswick is now 2-0 for the season.
September 8, 2007 – Eastern Invitational
East Brunswick made it to the semifinal round in the Eastern Invitational tournament where they lost to Cherry Hill in a tough 26-24 loss.
September 7, 2007 – East Brunswick defeats Mother Seton 25-18, 25-16
East Brunswick started out the season strongly with a two game victory over Mother Seton.
Allanah Miller had 13 digs and 3 kills. Marta Matera had 14 digs and 1 kill. East Brunswick is now 1-0 for the season.
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